The Power Within
by foreverspiritrider
Summary: It has been three years since Hitomi has been on Gaea, and she has really missed Van. Yukari finally convinces Hitomi to go back to Gaea. When Hitomi returns to Gaea she soon finds that Van is not the only person waiting for her.
1. Chapter 1

To all my friends, and other Escaflowne lovers.

Special thanks to someone who we'll call Lady Marmalade, who besides being my editor is one of my greatest friends.

Also, thanks to one of my other great friends named Connie. You gave me the idea to start writing fanfics! Thanks! P.S If any of you know how, could you tell me how to use real dividers? I'm probably being stupid butI can't figure it out.

The Power Within Chapter 1

It had been three years since Hitomi had last stepped foot on Gaea's surface. Most importantly, it had been three long years since Hitomi had last seen Van. She missed all of her friends on Gaea – Allen, Milerna, Prince Cheid, Dryden – and even the goofy little cat girl named Merle.

Out of all the people on Gaea, she missed Van the most. Hitomi missed his scent, and even his stubborn and arrogant ways. He had grown on her. Overall, she missed being with him all together. She longed to be back on Gaea's surface with all the sights, sounds and people.

When Hitomi had left Gaea three years ago, she had promised Van that she would never forget him and she never had.

For the first year of their separation, Hitomi would quite often feel that Van was with her. The feeling used to be so strong that she could almost see Van watching her. As time wore on, Van was with her less and less until he was never with her at all.

When Van had left her she had started to wonder if he had forgotten her. After all, what was she to him anyway? Did he think of her as more than a friend? Could he think of her as more than a friend? He had probably completely forgotten her by now. He's probably already married with children; he is a king after all, with duties and all. Hitomi thought to herself.

This thought had lead Hitomi to try to forget Van and move on with her life when Van had stopped coming to her. After all, she would never be able to go back to Gaea. Would she?

When she tried to move on with her life, she started to date. In total, she had dated three excellent guys. They were excellent guys but none of them were right for Hitomi. All three guys had been extremely nice and good looking. Sure, they had been good looking, smart, and any girls dream but at the same time Hitomi had known that all of them were not meant for her. She could only remember one guy who she truly cared about but he seemed long gone…

"Hitomi! You're thinking about him again, aren't you?" Yukari asked in a quiet and concerned voice. Yukari had beautiful long red hair and was of average height and weight. She had known Hitomi since they had both began school, and she was the manager of the high school track team, and also Hitomi's best friend as well.

At that moment Hitomi realized that she had been sitting on the roof of the high school, looking at the beautifully coloured sunset. In response to Yukari's question she just shook her head as if to say that she had not been thinking of Van.

"Don't lie to me, you were thinking about him" Yukari replied sadly.

"Yeah, I was thinking about him. I was back in my silly fantasy." Replied Hitomi as she began to sigh and avert her eyes back to longingly staring at the sunset.

"Tomi, if you really feel that way about him, you should go back to Gaea. No one would really mind as long as that is what makes you happy. We all want to see you be happy again. You haven't been the same since you came back from Gaea. There used to be a happy spark in your eye but since you have returned to Earth that spark has been replaced with sadness and longing. Your parents and I, and everyone just want you to be happy, even if you're not with us. " Stated Yukari supportively.

"Oh Yukari…" Hitomi sighed, "But what if he has moved on? What if he's actually married with kids? What if he doesn't want to see me? He would have kept on visiting me and checking up on me if he really had felt anything about me," said Hitomi desperately.

Quickly Yukari gave Hitomi a hug. "Don't worry, Tomi", said Yukari supportively. "By the sounds of it, Van probably cares about you just as much as you care about him. I'm sure of it. He probably didn't check up on you as often because he was probably really busy rebuilding his castle or whatever. And besides that, wasn't it that he as you would say, stopped 'visiting' you when he came to check up on you and discovered that you were out on a date with Karro? He probably thinks that you stopped caring about him and that's why he stopped 'visiting'.

A great realization came to Hitomi. It was all her fault that he had stopped coming, he probably thought that she had moved on and so he stopped coming. "It's all my fault, how could I be so stupid?" Hitomi said with an anguished voice. Tears started to fall from her eyes.

" It's alright. It's not your fault. It's just a misunderstanding, I'm sure it could be worked out if you just went to him. I'm still positive he will feel the same way about you, and that's why he left after he thought you moved on," replied Yukari wisely.

"What if he has moved on Yukari?" asked Hitomi in a small voice.

"That's enough 'what ifs'. 'What ifs' never get you anywhere! What if he _does_ feel the same way about you? Wouldn't it be worth just finding out whether or not he cares? I mean if it turns out I'm wrong (which I never am)", Yukari said teasingly, "You can always find a way to come back home. If you don't go see him you could miss finding out how he feels about you. Not only that, you could miss a chance being with your only true love." Said Yukari with a little bid of sadness.

Quickly Hitomi gave Yukari a big bear hug. Hot tears ran down both of the girls' faces. "I will never forget you. You mean so much to me. Thank you for everything. Please have a great life, I wish that somehow we could stay in touch, but there is no possible way. Please tell my parents, k? I really want them to understand." Hitomi said slowly.

"Don't worry Tomi', everything will be fine. Your parents already understand. When you grow up tell your kids about me okay?" said Yukari in a pained yet cheerful voice as she forced herself to smile and break their embrace.

Hitomi forced herself to smile as well. "Don't worry, I promise I will. You tell your kids about me too, k?" At that, Yukari nodded and continued to smile.

At that, Hitomi turned around and walked away from Yukari. Hitomi turned around and gave Yukari one last smile before yelling, "Take me back to Gaea! I want to see Van!"

Quickly, Hitomi was bathed into that familiar white light and lifted off the ground.

Yukari stared and watched as she saw her very best friend for the last time. After a long while of staring at where Hitomi had just stood, she walked away while tears still ran down her eyes. This is what would make Hitomi happy, and that was what was most important. She just hoped that Hitomi and Van could have the happiest and fulfilling lives possible.

* * *

Van sat on top of the roof of the castle, staring up into the sky. He was thinking about Hitomi.

He was thinking about how much he had missed her in the past years. In the time that Hitomi had been gone, about half of Fanelia had been rebuilt. Everyone in Fanelia had been working tirelessly, including Van.

Van vowed that he would rebuild an even better Fanelia. He just wished that Hitomi could be by his side and be with him while he and his people rebuilt his beautiful kingdom. Regretfully, Van knew that could never happen because she was on the Mystic Moon, and he was on Gaea. She did not want to come back to Gaea, she was happy on the Mystic Moon. Besides that, Van knew that she had moved on. The last time he had 'visited' her, she had been with a guy. She had forgotten about him.

"Oh Lord Van, you still miss her after all these years. I can tell. Why don't you just bring her back to Fanelia? Or, if you're not gonna do that, why don't you just move on?" Merle said with in a concerned voice as she latched onto Vans arm.

"Because it's not that simple. I can't just simply bring her back, no matter how much I want her to come back. Besides she has moved on," answered Van in a melancholy tone of voice.

"Oh Lord Van…why must you dwell on the past? I know she still feels the same way…she'd come back," replied Merle sadly.

At that very moment a beam of white light shot down from the heavens, onto the very roof that Van and Merle were standing on.

The white light faded away as quickly at it had appeared. Emerging from that white light was a young lady with honey brown hair that was about shoulder length. She was regular height for a woman and she had beautiful emerald coloured eyes. She was wearing a white blouse and a black skirt. These were strange clothes for women from Gaea to wear.

* * *

Van knew immediately that this beautiful woman that now stood in front of him was Hitomi.

When the light that had surrounded her had faded away she had seen a man in front of her. The man was tall and muscular and had unruly black hair. Hitomi knew it was Van. He wore black pants and a white shirt. Hitomi looked into his face she could tell that he had matured and become stronger. He was more handsome than the last time Hitomi had seen him, three years ago. His eyes still held that arrogant and stubborn air that they always had. That had not changed a bit. Latched on to the Vans arm, was a faithful cat girl: Merle.

Before Hitomi had the chance to say anything, she found herself on the ground, being licked by Merle.

"Hitomi, you've finally come back to us. You've come back to Lord Van! He's missed you so much! I've missed you too" Merle squealed excitedly as she hugged Hitomi.

"I've missed you too, but could you let me up now?" asked Hitomi in a happy voice as she hopped off of Hitomi. It had been a long time since Hitomi had felt this happy. She could feel joy welling up inside of her.

As Hitomi stood up, she looked straight at Van. She did not know what to do. He stood there, staring straight back at her with a type of gentleness in his eyes.

Briskly, Van walked up toward Hitomi and gave her a short and awkward hug that had only lasted a few seconds. Both Hitomi and Van began to blush.

Hitomi had long imagined being back on Gaea, with Van. Now that she was actually back on Gaea it seemed really awkward to her because she did not even know if he felt anything for her.

After a moment of standing in awkward silence, she caught a glimpse of that partly rebuilt Fanelia. The sun had almost set and there was only a little orange that was left in the sky. In the far corner of the city, Hitomi could see the construction that was still taking place. On the other edge of Fanelia, there were many farmers' fields. Even with all the construction on Fanelia, the view was still breath taking and beautiful with all the buildings, people, and gardens. Everyone was working together for a common good.

"It's beautiful Van. You and your people have done such a great job rebuilding Fanelia so far." Gasped Hitomi.

"It's not done yet and won't be done for another three years or more but we're working at it. It has been a lot of work but the part of Fanelia we have finished is about as good as it was before it got attacked by Zaibach." Van said with pride.

"Umm Van… I have a question to ask you," said Hitomi in a nervous voice.

"Hmmm?" He replied.

"Am I still welcome to stay here at your castle with you? If something has changed and you don't want me here I'll understand. I'll just leave."

"What happened to that guy that you were with? Why are you here?" Merle asked suspiciously.

"We were not meant for each other. He's not the guy that I wanna be with." Slowly Hitomi turned here gaze toward the ground. "I'm here because I want to see Van. That is if Van wants to see me after all of these years…"

Van had a stunned look on his face. He could not believe his ears. His face started to turn scarlet.

"Oh and so that guy?" Merle retorted once again. She wanted to make sure that Hitomi was not going to hurt her precious Lord Van again.

"That guy is nothing to me." she replied again with embarrassment.

"Hitomi, you're welcome to stay here as long as you want," said Van suddenly. He looked right into Hitomi's eyes. He saw a look of relief pass through Hitomi's eyes.

"Good, you've finally come back to Lord Van. It's about time! I was starting to think that you were never coming back! You better not break Van's heart!" bellowed Merle.

She stared at both Van and Hitomi. It was just like it had been before Hitomi had left for her home. Merle knew that it was best for Lord Van to be with Hitomi. She just had to make sure that Hitomi was here to be with Van instead of having an alternate purpose. Quietly, she watched as Van and Hitomi stared at each other. They would need time alone together to catch up and poor Merle had to quickly search her brain for an excuse to leave the two alone.

"I'm going to go have a room arranged for Hitomi! You two have a nice time catching up!" yelled Merle cheerfully as she rushed down the stairs, into the castle before either Hitomi or Van could object.

For a long while Hitomi and Van stood together, saying nothing. They both stared off into oblivion. It took a while, but finally Hitomi decided to break the silence.

"So Van…how has everything been?" asked Hitomi as she began to get frustrated at herself because of how stupid that sounded to her.

"Everything has been fine. Fanelia is half way to being rebuilt and we've taken more defence measures in case something like Zaibach happens again." came Van's reply.

"Ohh I see… Better safe than sorry I suppose…" said Hitomi shortly as she began to look for something better to talk about.

"So what's happened since I was gone? Are you married? Do you have kids? Do you have a girlfriend?" blurted Hitomi as she began to blush. The question of whether or not Van had moved on had plagued Hitomi for such a long time. This caused her worries about him moving on. Then it all came out at once in a string of questions.

"No. What about you? " asked Van quizzically.

"No. Nothing like that." replied Hitomi sullenly.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Van put both of his hands firmly on Hitomi's shoulders and looked straight into her eyes.

Hitomi was almost so surprised by Van's movement that she almost stepped backward. She found herself staring straight back at him. His eyes burned with determination, as they stood there, looking straight into each other's eyes.

"Hitomi… I want you to stay with me… from now on. I don't… I don't…" The words had been burning in his mind ever since she had left. He did not want to lose her again. Her face had turned red as soon as he had taken hold of her shoulders. Fear welled up inside of him at what she might say to him. The last time he had tried to tell her how he felt, she had got mad at him and went off with Allen. She just stared back at him with surprise in her eyes.

"I don't want to lose you again…" said Van sullenly.

* * *

"Queen Nola, the girl has finally come back to Gaea." said one of Nola's underlings.

"Finally! She has come back! Set a trap in place for her! We need her to come to Asturia and we need her to get away from that king. But how and when?" Questioned Nola, in her nasally voice. She needed to get Hitomi into Asturia so she would be easier to kidnap.

"If I may, your Majesty, I think I know of a way to get the girl into Asturia." boasted Captain Boren, the leader of her guards.

"Well spit it out." replied Nola excitedly.

"The celebration of the day Zaibach fell and peace came back to Gaea is in a about a week. I'm sure that Lord Van will get an invitation to Asturia for the national holiday. It is tradition that all the kings go to Asturia, you see. I'm sure that when he comes to Asturia he won't leave Hitomi behind. We can cause a distraction and when everyone is busy, we can kidnap her. Simple as that." Captain Boren said with his deep and burly voice.

"Excellent idea! We will prepare at once!" replied Nola. Her plans were all coming together, now that the girl was here. If the girl had the power that all of the stories had said she had, all of Nola's dreams would soon come true. She would soon be the supreme unquestioned ruler of Gaea, and everyone would accept her leadership, or die.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey everyone! Thanks again for the reviews and everything, I really appreciated it! Also once again I have to thank my editors, Lady Marmalade and my new editor, Newmy. Thanks out to my friends as well. I will not update this story for roughly a month because I will be gone to the cottage that doesn't have computer access, let alone Internet access. Sorry for the long wait. I knew I would be gone so I wrote this super long chapter. Sorry, but I'll have another chapter up in September! Thanks! Oh yeah, special thanks_ _to __mysisterisasquijum__for your tip on the dividers. Bye! _

**The Power Within - Chapter 2**

Hitomi stood there, staring at Van with both shock and surprise. She now realized that Yukari had been right about Van's feelings for her. He felt the same way about her as she felt for him. Slowly, she could feel herself start to hold her breath.

It was then when she realized that they were standing really close together. Surely if anyone came up on the roof and saw them standing there that close together, they would think that they were doing more than talking. What should she do now? What should she say to him? She had every intention of staying with him when she had first arrived on Gaea, and that had not changed but what were they going to do now? Where were she and Van in this relationship? Thought Hitomi as she puzzled over what she should say and do.

It seemed like forever to Hitomi before she figured out just what to say. "Van, I will stay with you as long as you want me to but…" Trailed off Hitomi's voice as Merle quickly came up behind Hitomi and Van.

"So what are you g…", said Merle before she gasped. Van had let go of Hitomi's shoulders and stepped back as soon as he realized Merle was there but it had been too late. Merle had seen everything that had been going on. Including the look that was in Van's eyes. It was the loving look that Van only had when he was with Hitomi.

Merle looked straight at Van and Hitomi. "Should I leave you two alone so you two can do some more smooching?" teased Merle in a playful voice.

"No, we weren't!" retorted Hitomi in an angry and yet playful voice as she began to walk toward Merle.

"Sure you weren't. You know there is someone here visiting that would really like to see you. It's Milerna. I'll just tell her that you're too busy hugging and kissing Lord Van to come and see her right now, she'll understand," jested Merle as she began to run. Of course, Hitomi was running close behind her.

"You will not!" yelled Hitomi even though she knew that Merle was just trying to irritate her. The race between Htiomi and Merle was on and no one knew who would win.

Slowly, Van began to follow the two fun-loving girls before he was interrupted by one of his servants. The servant was a young boy of about fourteen years old and he had messy dirty blond hair and was short for his age.

* * *

"Captain Boren, do you have the extra spies set in place in Fanelia? We must make sure that you're correct in assuming that the rascal king, who rules that puny country, brings the girl. We can't really afford mistakes."

"If I may say so, my Queen, the spies are already in place. There is no doubt; the king will bring the girl. I don't think we need to take so many extra precautions. Everything is pretty assured anyways." replied captain Boren in an ignorant voice. Captain was a short and stocky man; he had a big burly black beard. Overall, some could say he was unkempt at best. His hair was thick with grease and his teeth, or what he had left of them was yellow.

"You forget your place you insignificant slug!" yelled Queen Nola in a furious voice. "You forget that besides being queen, I am a sorcerer and could crush you according to my will!" At that Queen Nola moved her hand and pointed at Captain Boren. Suddenly Captain Boren started choking and his hands immediately went his throat. He quickly fell to his knees gasping.

As quickly as Captain Boren's choking fit came, it left. He began to bow to Queen Nola, "Queen Nola, the Magnificent and Eternal, I apologize for my insolence, you were right as always. I should have known all along, your Magnificence," grovelled Captain Boren.

"That's more like it, I pay you to follow orders, not to think", Queen Nola pointed at every servant in the room. "I will not stand insolence. Use that as an example; if any one of you pulls a stunt like Captain Boren here, you will suffer a much worse fate than he. Use this as a warning," said Queen Nola menacingly.

Every servant in the room looked at Queen Nola with a kind of quiet horror in their eyes. All of them were too frightened to cross her. She was a spoiled brat who was used to getting her own way. Every day of her life she had had someone grovelling at her feet following her orders. Naturally, she had grown selfish and dependent on others.

Nola went over to her private quarters. Her private quarters held gold, jewels and riches galore. "It would be any girl's dream to accumulate all of these riches, to have both servants and handsome wealthy bachelors throwing themselves at their feet," concluded Nola as she walked over to the mirror in the corner of the room.

The mirror was gold and encrusted with diamonds and jewels alike. The mirror was worth the same amount as a fair sized estate. Nola looked into the mirror at herself. She saw her very pale white skin and long beautiful raven black hair that reached down to her waist. She wore a light blue dress that accentuated her curves. Her eyes were a striking pale blue.

She looked deeply into the mirror looking for imperfections though she could find none. I am beautiful aren't I? She thought to herself. Then she thought of all she owned and found that she wanted more. She remembered growing up as child, growing up amongst the nobles in the Zaibach Empire.

Her father had been one of the highest leaders in Zaibach. Nola had gotten everything she had ever asked for but the very thing that she had desired most: a friend. Over the years she had learnt that she could force other people to be her friends. Her father had never truly loved her; to him she was just some ignorant little whelp that he had fathered. He had always looked down on her.

Well she was about to show her father! She wasn't just a spoiled brat! She was about to rule over all of Gaea and be the supreme ruler! The only good thing that her father had done for her is when her father had given her up for experimentation. Nola had hated the idea at the time but that was until they had given her the power to reach and take over other people's minds. Of course, that had had its downsides, like she could not take over certain minds. Some minds seem to have a certain block against her to stop her from working her way in. She could not wait to be able to have everyone begging at her feet.

"My sweet, soon we will be the rulers of this world but not quite yet. You must wait." Nola turned and stared at her partner Rygen. Rygen was a tall, pale dashing young man. He was handsome with his beautiful icy blue eyes. His medium length hair was black as coal and he had been beginning to grow a moustache. He was in his mid twenties and already rich beyond his wildest dreams.

"My sweet, could you remind me why we need the dumb stupid girl? Don't we have enough soldiers already to take over most of Gaea? Plus, I could easily take over more minds and force them to fight with us so why do we need the girl?" asked Nola in a frustrated voice.

"Don't be stupid! We don't have near enough armies to be able to take over all of Gaea. We may have ten thousand guymelefs and many other foot soldiers but the rest of Gaea has far superior numbers than us. Our numbers have greatly dwindled since Zaibach was destroyed. We are not near ready for a full – out war yet, even with the numbers of soldiers that join New Zaibach everyday, it would be no point. War would be suicide. We will have to take Gaea country by country and force the survivors to join us. We're going to need the girl's power to do that. We need her because she has the power to influence fate. Once she's on our side, whether she likes it or not she'll make sure fate goes our way. Plus, she has pretty good connections – the King of Fanelia, the princess of Asturia, the duke of Freid, they'll probably make some deals to keep her safe," said Rygen in a matter of fact voice.

"And how do you suppose you'll get her to work for us?" questioned Nola mockingly.

"Well our dream is to reunite all the countries of Gaea into one big country. She'll probably agree to join us without fighting too much after I tell her our intentions. I mean no more wars, just everyone working together. It would be excellent wouldn't it? And if she still doesn't see it our way after I tell her that, there are other things that can be done," remarked Rygen slyly as a malicious smile crept onto his face.

* * *

"Excuse me your Highness, but there is messenger here who requests your presence. Should I tell him your coming or tell him you're busy? He's waiting for you in the throne room," said the young servant. Deep respect for the king burned in his eyes.

"Is it urgent?" demanded Van.

"No, I don't believe it is. I think it is an invitation. It is a message from Asturia, your majesty," responded the servant mildly.

"Tell the messenger that I will receive him in a moment," replied Van. The servant gave a quick bow and hurried down to the awaiting messenger.

"Lord Van!" screamed Merle loudly as she ran up to him. "Are you going to come with Hitomi and me to visit Milerna?" asked Merle obnoxiously.

"No, I have business to attend to right now, but you two have fun," articulated Van dully as he began to walk down and toward the throne room.

When Van arrived in the throne room there was a man standing in the corner of the room. He definitely wore the Asturian livery. Van walked slowly to his comfortable throne and sat down and then bid the messenger to come forward.

The messenger had long brown hair, and was well groomed. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. When Van bid him to come forward he slowly walked toward Van and knelt in front of him.

"What is your message from Asturia?" asked Van politely and patiently. He had been expecting the invitation to the annual celebration celebrating Zaibach's destruction for a while now.

"I am here on behalf of King Aston. You are invited to join King Aston in celebrating the destruction of Zaibach. He asks that you bring a companion to the celebration that is to be held one week from now in Asturia," read the messenger.

Van nodded, "I will be joining King Aston at the celebration, you are dismissed," said Van confidently.

"Thank you, you're majesty," the messenger stood up and walked away quietly.

* * *

Unbeknownst to anyone in the throne room, a spy perched silently behind a secret passageway. He had been listening in carefully and was pleased to find that Van had received that message.

Now the second part of the job would be just as simple as the first, he had to make sure that Van would bring the girl to Asturia. He kept his ear close to the door so he could hear every word spoken. After Van brought the girl to Asturia, the last part of his mission would be to track the girl.

The spy smirked as he listened in on the conversations going on inside of the throne room. This was the easiest job he had ever pulled and for the amount of money he was getting paid, he would never have to work again in his life.

* * *

Merle and Hitomi walked excitedly up to the room where Milerna was staying. They were both giggling like schoolgirls after chasing one another for at least a half an hour. It seemed to Hitomi that she and Merle were now friends. Something was different about Merle since the last time that Hitomi had been there, but Hitomi was not sure what it was. 

Merle quickly knocked on Milerna's door and the two girls waited to be let in. It was only a moment before a tall brown haired maid walked out. She was at least forty years old and looked completely tired out for the day. She wore here hair in a tight bun that rather suited her face because she looked as if she did not smile a lot.

"May I help you?" asked the maid sourly.

"Tell Milerna that Merle and a very old friend are here to see her," piped up Merle quickly. The maid walked back inside the room quickly and repeated the message to Milerna in her stern and grouchy voice.

"A very old friend, who in the world could that be?" Milerna asked herself out loud. "Let them in," said Milerna in a commanding voice. Milerna sat in a chair staring at the fire waiting for her guests to come in.

Hitomi and Merle walked in slowly and watched as Milerna almost fell out of her chair as soon as she saw Hitomi. As soon as she recovered, she ran over to Hitomi and hugged her.

"I thought you were back on the mystic moon!" cried Milerna as she stopped hugging her friend and began staring at her in awe.

"I was," said Hitomi cheerfully, "but I decided that I wanted to come back and stay on Gaea." Hastily Milerna gave Hitomi a glance that told Hitomi that Milerna wanted to know more about why she had come back to Gaea.

"Come, let's sit by the fireplace and then we can talk some more," said Milerna who rushed quickly back to her seat and sat down. Merle and Hitomi quickly followed, both taking nice comfortable chairs beside Milerna.

"Would any of you like anything to drink?" asked Milerna politely. Both Merle and Hitomi shook their heads. "Harelda, could you please get me a cup of herbal tea?"

"Yes, your highness," replied Harelda, the grumpy brown haired maid as she began to hurry down to the kitchens to get the tea.

"So Hitomi," said Milerna slyly, "why did you come back from Mystic Moon anyways?"

"Because she wanted to be with Lord Van! Everyone knows she's in love with Lord Van! I just can't figure out why they just don't get married," piped Merle as she began to use her nail file.

"Shut up, Merle!" said Hitomi loudly as she began to blush furiously and look down at her feet.

"Oh so it is true," announced Milerna in an understanding voice. "I was pretty sure that was going to be the reason."

"Okay, enough about my life. Have you found anyone yet?" questioned Hitomi to Milerna as she tried to get the conversation off of she and Van.

"Yeah, oh he is wonderful, he's kind, gentle and caring. Simply the best man I've ever met, well besides Allen of course." Milerna cleared her throat nervously. "He's also an earl and I'm completely in love with him."

"That's great! Good for you!" replied Hitomi. "I'm glad Dryden and you were able to make an understanding before you both completely ruined your lives. So how is Dryden anyway?"

"I don't hear about him all that often. I receive letters from him from time to time. The last time I received a letter from him it said that his business was doing excellent. He was making money hand over foot," recollected Milerna.

"I'm glad to hear it," said Hitomi.

"Just like a merchant to only think of money," snickered Merle. All three girls began to laugh. They kept on reminiscing like that for many hours. It was midnight before she next looked at her watch.

"We better get going Merle, it's getting late," said Hitomi sadly. They were all sad as they walked toward the door. Hitomi put her hand on the door when she remembered something.

"Milerna could I borrow some clothes from you? I forgot to bring any when I came here," said Hitomi hopefully.

"Yeah, sure, no problem," Milerna said kindly.

"Why don't we go shopping for clothes? We need to go shopping for a dress for you anyway Hitomi. You could come too, if you want to Milerna," proposed Merle.

"Yeah sure! It'll be fun--a big shopping trip with the girls!" said Milerna excitedly.

"Wait, wait hold on a minute here. Why do we have to go shopping for me, Merle? Besides, I don't have any money," curiously asked Hitomi.

"Are you dumb? There will be, in all likelihood an invitation for Lord Van to go to Asturia to celebrate the destruction of Zaibach. He'll bring you with him for sure. Lord Van will always pay for everything you get," said Merle slyly.

"How do you know that he'll bring me? He could always choose someone else to go with, besides why would Van pay for what I get?"

"Because he will bring you and because you're probably going to be here for a very, very long time," articulated Merle. Hitomi just began to blush profusely.

"So it's set then, we're going shopping," said Milerna happily. Hitomi and Merle nodded as they walked off to their rooms.

The next morning Hitomi woke up to find a maid standing at the foot of her bed. "Wha… what are you doing? Who are you?" asked Hitomi sleepily.

"Oh, I'm here to inform you that Lord Van and his counsellors are waiting for you in the dining room and that the Princess Milerna has sent a dress for you to wear today. So anyway, is it true that you can tell the future and the past? Did you really go with the king on the long adventure? Are you really from the Mystic Moon? What's it like up there? Do people from there all dress like you?" quickly asked the maid.

"Wait, hold on a minute, what's your name? Where'd you hear all this?" tiredly asked Hitomi as she began to crawl out of bed.

"Oh dearie me, I can't believe I forgot to tell you, I'm Maid Marian. I'll be waiting on you while I'm here. It's all gossip that has been spread around Gaea. Lord knows that King Van was in love with a woman from the Mystic Moon, so I just assumed it was you." replied Maid Marian as Hitomi began to blush a dark red.

"No, no… I'm not Lord Van's lover," Is that true? Well at least I think I'm not…," Hitomi thought unsurely. "Umm, yes I am from the Mystic Moon. I used to be able to tell the past and the future but I don't do it anymore. It's a lot different on the Mystic Moon than here and finally some people dress like me but not all. There are a lot of different fashions of dress on the Mystic Moon," exhaustedly replied Hitomi.

"Ahh I see, I was just curious," said Maid Marian. "But you forgot to answer one question. Are you or are you not the woman from the Mystic Moon who came to Gaea with Lord Van and went on the journey to destroy Zaibach with him?" prodded Maid Marian as Hitomi felt herself blush even redder.

"Ahh yes, I am," finally replied Hitomi as she felt he face go yet again a few shades redder.

"So you are the one who all the stories are about. Unless of course there was another woman from the Mystic Moon on Gaea, was there?" questioned Maid Marian.

"No… I don't believe so. I'm probably the one those stories you heard were about," surrendered Hitomi as she realized there was no way to get out of admitting that is was her, the stories were about.

"You're pretty famous here," replied Maid Marian triumphantly.

"Obviously," grumbled Hitomi sarcastically as a smile began to appear on Maid Marian's face.

"Well anyway, the dress is over there in the closet and you better hurry up because Lord Van and the councillors are waiting for you," said Maid Marian as she exited the room.

Hitomi rushed and got ready for breakfast and then ran out the door. Nothing significant happened that morning until right after lunch when Hitomi decided to go and look for Van. Confidently, Hitomi walked out into the gardens to continue her search for Van. She had not had time the day before to ask Van where they were in this relationship or how he really felt about her. She was going to ask him when Merle had burst in on them. Knowingly Hitomi had checked the stables, the roof and the guymelef hold before she decided to check the gardens.

"Van! Van!" shouted Hitomi into the seeming empty garden. The flowers there were all different types that she had never seen back on Earth. "Gaea is so different from earth…," concluded Hitomi after a few moments at staring at the beautiful gardens. Blue, pink, purple and red flowers sprouted up everywhere. There was a great fountain in the middle of it all that depicted a knight fighting a large dragon. Not only were there flowers in the gardens, but shrubbery and trees too. It was then when Hitomi heard Van's voice but he was not alone. He was talking to some female. Hitomi did not know why but her first reaction was to hide behind some bushes, which was exactly what she did.

"Van," said a woman with a whiney voice. "You should take me to the celebration in Asturia. I heard it's an absolutely beautiful place," came that whiney and shrilly voice again.

"It is a beautiful place," replied Van in a bored voice. It was then when Van and his companion stepped into Hitomi's view. Her jaw clenched as she caught site of the woman he was with. The woman had latched herself to his arm. "She looks cozy… too cozy," thought Hitomi unpleasantly. The woman had long striking beautiful blond hair that reached to the middle of her back, and bright beautiful blue eyes. She also had a flawless face and figure, that made Hitomi dislike the woman even further. Her dress was blue and had a very low neckline.

She analyzed the woman critically. "Who does she think she is? Rapunzel? And I mean look at her face! My face could look flawless and beautiful too if I used tubs and tubs of make up every morning. Her real face is probably ugly and full of acne. Look at her dress! Geez, if that doesn't just say ' I crave attention!'" snickered Hitomi bitterly as she watched the path from behind the large tree. She could feel herself begin to scowl at the woman who was all cozy with Van. Suddenly, someone ran up at Hitomi from behind. Automatically Hitomi screamed as she looked behind her and saw a pair of big cat eyes staring right back at her. Merle was grinning.

"Hitomi!" yelled Van as he forced the woman to let go of him and grabbed for his sword hilt. He immediately began to walk toward the bush Hitomi was hiding in with a serious and yet extremely worried look on his face.

She had no choice, Hitomi realized; I have to reveal my hiding spot to him. At that Hitomi stood up.

"Hi… Hitomi is everything all right?" Van asked while he seemed relieved to see Hitomi safe. "What are you doing here?"

"Uhhhhh….," stammered Hitomi. "I'm fine! Merle and I was just playing a game you see!" lied Hitomi.

"Don't you mean you were spying on Lord Van?" snickered Merle.

"Shut up!" whispered Hitomi as she purposely stepped hard on Merle's foot. As a result Merle jumped up from out of the bushes. "You see this game we were playing is called…" stammered Hitomi as she searched her mind for another lie. She used the first game that popped into her mind. "Hide and seek, it's one of my favourite games from the Mystic Moon." Hitomi then got a good look at the woman Van was with. The woman obviously looked angered at Hitomi's intrusion. "In the game Merle had to count to one hundred and then she had to go and look for me."

"And you see I screamed because I didn't think that Merle was even close to finding me. So she kinda popped out of no where and startled me so I screamed," that was partly the truth. "I'm sorry if I scared you, I had no idea you were there."

"Liar," grumbled Merle.

"That's all right," replied Van with a relieved tone in his voice. "Hitomi," Van said in a nervous voice. "I didn't get time to ask you this before but would you be interested in going to Asturia with me to celebrate the destruction of Zaibach?" The woman beside Van glowered, stared and gave Hitomi the most hateful envious look that she had ever seen in her life. Secretly Hitomi was smiling to herself.

"Told you," said Merle in a teasing voice.

"I'd love to go Van," replied Hitomi smiling as the woman kept on giving her the hateful look.

"Good," said Van stiffly. "Well we're leaving the day after tomorrow. I gave Merle some money to buy some new clothes for you." Hitomi turned and saw Merle with a large grin on her face. "So that was how she knew Van was going to ask me," thought Hitomi. "Uhhh…well I better be going," announced Van as he began to walk off toward the castle. The woman followed Van into the castle, this time not so cosily.

"Van is the most sought after bachelor on Gaea because not only because he is rich and royalty but he's also young, handsome, well respected and a war hero. Women have been pursuing him ever since the end of the war. That woman he was with was Princess Madelia. She has been pursuing him for over two years now. I wish all the stupid women would just give up and leave Van alone and realize that he's taken. It'll be a while before that spoiled rotten princess pursues him again after this defeat," said Merle hotly. Hitomi could feel her face turn to crimson.

The rest of the day past uneventfully and Hitomi went to bed looking forward to the shopping with Merle and Milerna the next day. She was really excited. One thing troubled her sleep though, something that Merle had said. Hitomi recalled Merle telling her about the ladies who had been pursuing Van. The thing that had startled her was when Merle had said that Van was taken. "Does that really mean that Van and I are dating?" puzzled Hitomi as she tried to go to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry about the long wait! I didn't get home until the very beginning of September and have been very busy with homework. The story will most likely be updated more often from now on. There will probably be 2 to 4 more chapters. Anyways, special thanks to my fans, my friends and my editors! Thank you!

Chapter 3

The next morning Hitomi awoke to find that once again she had been rudely awakened. This time though, instead of Maid Marian being at the foot of the bed it was Milerna and Merle was right beside Hitomi, shaking her violently.  
"Get up sleepy head! We have a big day ahead of us!" declared Merle as she continued to shake Hitomi.

"I'm awake! I'm awake! Could you quit yelling in my ear, you're making me deaf!" angrily blasted Hitomi as she sat up. "What time is it, I doubt the sun is even up yet," she complained as Merle raced to the window and drew the curtains to reveal the sunrise.

"We've got a full day of shopping ahead of us so we have to get an early start. I left you a dress for you to wear today. I wasn't sure exactly where you would want it so I just put it in the closet for you. Hurry up and see you in a moment," Milerna said in an eager voice as both she and Merle turned around to leave the room.

"Thanks," spoke Hitomi shortly before uttering grouchily, " Does anybody sleep around here?"

At that utterance, Merle turned and stared at Hitomi before retorting, "If everyone slept as much as you do, nothing would ever get done."

"You weren't supposed to hear that," countered Hitomi.

Pointing to her ears that began to twitch, Merle smirked slyly as she said, " I'm part cat, and my hearing is just as good as any cat. I hear a lot more than you'd expect." At that, she continued to walk out of the room.

Slowly Hitomi got up out of bed and got dressed in the dress Milerna had brought for her. The dress was a frilly blue dress with short sleeves that were very pretty. Quickly she put the dress on before leaving to meet up with her friends.

* * *

Watching quietly in a hidden place among the halls, the spy watched as the young girl they called Hitomi ran out of her room in pursuit of her two friends who had passed minutes before. He had been pleased to see that Captain Boren had been right when he said that the young king would bring the girl to the Gaean Peace celebration. That meant that he would not have to take the young girl by force to New Zaibach.

A slight smile appeared across the spy's face as Hitomi ran past him, oblivious of the fact that she was being watched. In mingling among the hired staff of the castle he had learned much of Hitomi. Rumour had it that the young girl had been able to see the past, future and the unseen. They also said that she was actually from that bewitched place called the mystic moon. Apparently the girl and the Fanelian King were one of the main causes that caused the fall of Zaibach. The story said that after the war had ended, Hitomi left King Van and went to the mystic moon even though she and the king had fallen in love.

He did not believe that most of the stories and the rumours were true. Surely the girl was strange but that did not mean that the girl was from the mystic moon. She was probably just from a very distant country or something. As the day wore on he began to believe the rumours less and less. He watched as the girl and her friends laughed gaily and blindly, ignorant of all the other things going on around them.

The more he saw, the less he believed. 'If she really did know the past, future and unknown wouldn't she have been able to sense that she was being watched? Wouldn't she know what was about to happen to her?' Puzzled the spy amidst his hiding place. The only part of the story that appeared to be true was the part that said that the young king and her were in love. She did not appear to be psychic or from the mystic moon and he could not imagine how a girl such as herself would even be able to imagine how to fall an empire. Now he almost felt sympathy for this girl. 'Poor girl doesn't have any idea about what's about to happen. She won't be smiling for too much longer," reflected the spy.

"Ei, Rin, how's the job been goin'?" said Ormond, a fellow spy. Startled, Rin jumped at that sound of Ormond's voice. Rin swore under his breath once he realized his mistake at making himself so vulnerable. Such a mistake could be very costly. He had been waiting for Hitomi and her friends to come out of a shop they had went into and had stopped paying attention to the people around him.

"The jobs goin' fine. Captain Boren was right, that little brat king is takin' the girl," roughly replied Rin as he returned his attention back to watching the shop.

"You're getting sloppy, leavn' urself so vulnerable like that. You're just lucky it was me sneakn' up on you and not nobody else," said Ormond. Ormond was an extremely large and stout man who despite his large size was one of the best sneaks ever born. He had long brown hair that was put into a ponytail and he had a round, fat face. The man was so talented that he himself could probably be in a play and act every single character successfully. He could impersonate almost anyone imaginable. Besides that he could persuade anyone into believing that the sky was actually brown instead of blue.

Rin replied with a grouchy look. "Why do Nola and Rygen want this girl? She seems ta' be totally harmless."

"Now's not a good time ta' be askin questions. I heard Nola nearly throttled Captain Boren fer suggestin' that there were already enough spies in Fanelia. Serves him right I s'pose, he's always been a little bit too obnoxious. Anyways word at New Zaibach is that they need this girl cuz she's got some amaz'n power that allows her to see the unseen and know the unknown and besides that she can influence fate. Creepy if ya' ask me. I wouldn't want no girl around like that if I was goin to take over Gaea. But even if that's a lie, she stills got real good connections with the King of Fanelia. I bets he'd be willin' to do anythin just to get 'er back, what an awful thing love is," stated Ormond as he too stared at the shop door with an evil grin on his face.

"There's no way this girl has those kinda powers. If she did she'd hafta have some kinda idea about what's about to happen and she seems to be totally oblivious of it. Though I'd be will'n ta bet that good ol' foolish king of hers' would pay a good lot for her," said Rin just as Hitomi, Merle and Milerna walked out of the shop, carrying a few more bags than they had before they went in. Ormond quietly slipped away and Rin was left alone once again.

The rest of the day turned out to be fairly quiet after that.

* * *

As Hitomi, Merle and Milerna and walked back to the castle it was dusk. All three of the girls were smiling and laughing. They had all obtained many new outfits from the days outing.

"Well I guess Fanelian clothing is just as prestigious as everyone says it is," Milerna said confidently.

"Fanelian fashion designers are the best," agreed Merle quickly.

"I know this is completely off topic but what exactly happens at the Gaean Peace Celebration anyway?" questioned Hitomi worriedly. As the day had worn on, she had realized that she had no real idea of what the celebration was exactly about.

"Oh it's really quite nice actually. Every year, on the very day that Zaibach fell, all the kings go to Asturia to celebrate the day when peace came to Gaea. There is a special ceremony involving all the kings where they all vow that another war like that will ever happen again. It commemorates all the brave soldiers that were killed in that war, and it honors all of the most recognized war heroes by having them give a speech to the masses of peasants opposing war and promoting peace. Many parties and celebrations happen on that day. After the main ceremony, there are many shows and demonstrations put on for the people to watch. In the evening they have fireworks and then after that there is a large ball put on in the castle for everyone's enjoyment. Of course the ball is mostly for nobility, the peasants have a separate celebration of their own," explained Milerna diligently.

"Oh wow… that sounds nice." At that moment Hitomi realized that she did not know any dances from Gaea. A pang of worry hit her. "Uh oh," gasped Hitomi.

"What now?" asked Merle impatiently.

"I just realized that I don't know any dances from Gaea, and we're leaving for Asturia tomorrow," complained Hitomi. Milerna looked back at Hitomi with a surprised look.

"Just get Van to teach you," said Merle happily as Hitomi began to blush.

"Merle are you coming to Asturia?" asked Hitomi hopefully.

"Nope, get Van to teach you" came Merle's reply. Hitomi was becoming more and more desperate by the minute.

"Hold it, I can teach you if you are willing to try and learn. It will take us all night though," warned Milerna. Readily, Hitomi agreed being as desperate as she was.

The lessons commenced soon after they returned to the castle and lasted way into the night. Milerna had a small orchestra come in and help them while they danced. Hitomi had not realized how many dances that she would have to learn. None of the dances were very hard but there were many different types of dances for each type of music. When Hitomi was finally able to go to sleep it was already the early hours of the morning.

"Get up! Get up!" Maid Marian said desperately. Hitomi had a hard time opening her eyes since she had only slept about two hours. "Time to go already?" asked Hitomi tiredly as she got up and began to get ready to leave. Her movements were almost zombie like as she walked out the door and through the castle to meet Van. When she reached the stable she found several knights standing around waiting. Merle was once again latched to Van's arm.

"You're late! Did you sleep well?" asked Merle slyly. Merle knew that Hitomi did not go to bed until very early in the morning because she had been at the session part of the time.

"Unnn…" was Hitomi's dull reply. Merle just smiled.

"So are we ready to go?" asked Van patiently as he looked directly at Hitomi. She nodded her reply and Van hoisted her up onto his horse. Doing her best, she tried not to blush as Van got onto the horse behind her. His arms touched hers as he held the reins of the horse.

"Good bye Lord Van! Have a safe journey!" yelled Merle as the group of knights; the king and Hitomi left the castle stables.

"Are we traveling by horse the entire way to Asturia?" asked Hitomi politely as Van gave a bit of a chuckle. Hitomi could feel Vans breath on the back of her neck and it was almost tickling her.

"No we're just riding to the harbor and then we're taking a Levi ship to Asturia. We're expecting the trip to take about three or four days. At any rate, we should be in Asturia in time for the celebration," replied Van in a respectful tone.

"I see, how long until we reach the harbor?" asked Hitomi in her same old tired tone.

"Just a few minutes now," he replied in a passive tone. They were now in a thicker part of the city and the people were just starting awaken to a days work. Merchants were just setting up shop and peasants were just starting to come out of their houses. The sun was just starting to come up over the horizon. Two nights ago, on the very day that Van had asked Hitomi to go to Asturia with him, Hitomi had made a decision. She was going to ask him, she was going to do it.

"I need to ask you a question," asked spoke Hitomi nervously in a broken voice. She was nervous and afraid of the answer he would give to the question that she was about to ask. Hitomi heard Van take a deep breath right before he spoke.

"Go ahead," he replied with a passive voice.

"I wanted to know… I was wondering…," began Hitomi distressed voice. "I… I…We… What are we? What is our relationship? Are we more than friends or are we just friends? I mean I really like you…I mean do you like me?" Hitomi's face completely flushed and she felt Van's grip on the reins tighten. She could not explain it, but she was pretty sure that at this moment Van was blushing as well. Half expecting and half hoping that Van would say something like 'what a silly question', or something she waited.

"I… I…" Van began speaking in the same broken state that Hitomi had just spoken in. Though, at that very moment the two of them plus the knights reached the harbor and immediately Van was called upon to do some necessary tasks that needed to be done while Hitomi was left all by herself. A servant helped her down from the horse and shortly after Hitomi boarded the Levi ship.

For the most part in the voyage Hitomi was alone. Time to time Hitomi would catch a glimpse of Van and for a moment their eyes would meet but he always had someone nagging him to do stupid tasks. It seemed to Hitomi that Van had a lot to do even though he did not have much to do with the flying of the Levi ship.

On the second evening Hitomi stood looking out the window with a worried look on her face. There were many workers busily working all around of her. She would have offered help but she knew there was nothing she could do to help them. Since boarding the Levi ship Hitomi had been extremely worried about the incident that had happened between Van and her right before they arrived at the harbor. She could not stop thinking, 'What was he about to say?' Distractedly she could not stop wondering if the reason why she did not see Van was because he did not want to see her and he made up some silly little tasks just to avoid her. Hitomi sighed.

"What's wrong little miss?" asked a masculine voice from behind her. Turning around, Hitomi smiled when she saw it was her new friend, Garin. Garin was in his mid- thirties but looked much younger than he actually was. He had long brown hair and the beginning of a beard. Garin had been the one to help Hitomi find her room and they had quickly become friends. Hitomi had learned in their short chats that Garin was married to a wonderful wife and had two children. She also learned the he was an ex-thief turned sailor when he had been caught stealing bread from a merchant in his early twenties. He was a good-natured fellow who had a taste for helping others.

"Nothing really, I'm okay," replied Hitomi in a voice that would not have fooled anyone. She turned around to continue looking out the window.

"Come now, you're not fooling me, now what's the problem?" asked Garin as he too looked out the window. "Is it the young King?" Questioned Garin. Hitomi began to blush.

"How'd you know about me and Van? I never told you about Van," said Hitomi as she turned to face him.

"One can always tell the pains and uncertainties of young love. Besides, everyone on this ship knows you're the young lady from the Mystic Moon. Rumor has it that you and King Van of Fanelia were and are in love and that he was heart broken after you left for your home. Gossip also says that you came back to him and now the two of you are a couple. Though by the way you're acting, I'd say that's more fact than fiction," concluded Garin as he looked around calmly.

Hitomi's face had turned at least two shades redder before she wildly and resentfully began retorting loudly. "Look here, we are not a couple! I don't even know how he feels about me so how could we be a couple? I haven't even really seen him since we got on this stupid ship! It seems like he's avoiding me, and how is it that everyone seems to know my business when I don't even know my business!" She was angry and she did not understand why. It was not exactly her nature to lash out on unsuspecting people but she could not stop it this time. The fact that Garin began smiling at her when she had began fighting with him made her increasingly angrier. How could he stand there with that dumb look on his face? It was just like she had just given him a great gift.

"Come now was that so hard?" said Garin belligerently as Hitomi shot him a dirty look. "Didn't you know the only reason why your king has been busy is because he has to speak that the ceremony. He has to prepare that speech. He is a big part of the ceremony because he is considered a well-respected war hero. The teachers he has been with will not allow him go on the stage until the speech is perfect and believe me; he has a very long speech. He's not avoiding you; he's doing something very important. I'm sure he'd love to see you but believe me his teachers will barely be letting him get a moment's rest until his speech is absolutely perfect."

Suddenly Hitomi felt very stupid. "I am an idiot. How self-centered was that?" She felt very bad for believing that Van would do that to her.

"It's not your fault anyone can make that mistake," said Garin soothingly. The two of them chatted for a while before Garin had to leave to go back to work. Hitomi continued with her day feeling half relieved knowing that Van was not avoiding her. The day progressed rather slowly.

On the third and final night Hitomi walked slowly and silently through the hall. It was very late at night and only the workers that were needed to keep the ship running were awake. Many people had long before gone to bed but Hitomi had found that she was unable to sleep. She was too nervous about the ceremony that was going to be happening the day after tomorrow. On this night Hitomi felt that she might be able to sleep better if she had a glass of water. When she reached the kitchen she heard someone moving from inside the room. Slowly she creaked open the door.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" asked Hitomi into the lonely dark kitchen. As Hitomi had suspected no one had answered her so she quickly walked into the room, and began to light a candle.

"Don't do that," came a voice from behind her. Startled she jumped back, fell and knocked over what she expected to be a couple of pots. Out from the darkness and into the candlelight walked Van.

"You scared me half to death! What are you doing in here?" asked Hitomi suspiciously as she picked up the pots she had knocked over and stood up.

"We can't talk here," whispered Van as Hitomi looked at him questioningly. "Put the candle out and follow me," quickly Hitomi put out the candle and followed Van through a series of deserted hallways. As soon as Hitomi and Van had exited the kitchen through the servants door Hitomi heard men walking into the kitchen. After a couple of minutes of walking through the dark and deserted halls Van whispered, "Wait here, " and Hitomi began to hear clicking sounds. "Come with me", Van announced as he grabbed her hand.

She followed him through what seemed to be a door. As she walked through the door she realized they were outside. "How… Where?" asked Hitomi incomprehensibly.

"We're at the top of the ship. This is a place where they use to repair the ship when they are unable to land," said Van offhandedly.

"Why did we have to leave the kitchen? And why were we being so quiet about it?" questioned Hitomi warily as she looked out on the beautiful scenery. They were now passing over a vast ocean. She could see the power of the strong waves moving in a continuous cycle. Both Van and Hitomi looked out on the ocean. In the background a crescent moon hung brightly in the sky. Behind the moon, the Mystic moon was clearly in sight. There were many stars shining brightly in the sky. There was no other sound but the sound of roaring waves for a couple of moments.

"Because I told the tutors that I went to bed. If they knew I was still awake they would still be pestering me," replied Van as he began to sit down. At that moment Hitomi realized that she was still holding his hand.

"Sorry," she replied lamely as she sat down and let go of his hand. Neither spoke for many minutes.

"Do… Do you miss the Mystic Moon?" asked Van after a little while. He shifted awkwardly as he waited for an answer.

"Yeah, I miss the Mystic moon, I miss my friends and family but everything is alright. Everyone has an idea where I went and… I… I think I made the right choice but I'm not sure," at this moment Van seemed to have a somewhat preoccupied look on his face. He did not seem to really be listening at all.

Again there was a very long period of silence. " Are you all right? Is there something wrong?" asked Hitomi with a concerned ring in her voice. At that moment Van turned away from staring at the ocean and turned to face Hitomi. The facial expression he had was one that Hitomi had only seen once before. It was the same facial expression that he had had when he had got on Escaflowne and brought back Hitomi from Earth. That was right before the fall of Zaibach. He moved closer to her. It was just like the day that she had first realized she was in love with him.

" Van I love you," she had finally said it. That was the one thing that she had always wanted to say to Van. It had been the one thing that she had never told him. At that moment she found herself moving closer to Van and before she knew it they were kissing. It was their first kiss. It was short, awkward, sweet and at the same time everlasting. Hitomi felt as if she could soar through the stars, and jump over the moon. Neither of them would forget the moment for the rest of the life. At that moment Hitomi knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Van.

Quickly the kiss ended and they both turned away from each other, their faces red from blushing. There were several minutes of deafening silence.

"I suppose I should walk you back to your room. We have to wake up early tomorrow," said Van. Hitomi reluctantly agreed and stood up and they walked back to her room in silence. At the end of the journey when they reached Hitomi's room, Van just stood awkwardly at Hitomi's door. Hitomi was inside her room, with the door open and she faced Van.

"Good night," said Van briskly.

Quickly Hitomi kissed Vans cheek and blushed. "Thanks," said Hitomi shyly as she went back into her room and went to bed. Many of thoughts and dreams reflected the events of the night before.

The next morning Hitomi woke up to find that the Levi ship had docked and started unloading before she had even woken up. She looked out on the ocean and remembered so many memories. The memory that came most vividly to Hitomi's mind was the day when she, Van, Merle, Allen's crew and Allen had arrived in Asturia for the first time. That was the day when Hitomi had first met Milerna, which had also been the day Milerna had mistaken Hitomi for a simple handmaiden. Smiling, she began to look around for people she knew.

"Hitomi! Hitomi!" called Milerna from a place about one hundred feet away. Quickly Hitomi turned toward Milerna.

"What are you doing here?" asked Hitomi in a surprised tone of voice. She had not been expecting Milerna.

"I was on the same Levi ship with you, you just didn't notice because you were too busy sulking at why Van wasn't anywhere to be seen," to that, Milerna got a surprised and inquiring look. "I never saw it for myself but according to some of the maids that attended me, you were almost crying," continued Milerna promptly.

"If you were on the same Levi ship, how come I didn't see you?" challenged Hitomi.

"Preparations. I have quite a large part in the set up of the ceremony. I tried to get out to see you but there was so much that had to be done. Besides it would have ruined the surprise if you would have found out," Milerna began to grin mischievously. "Anyways I have to go get ready but I'll see you tomorrow!" said Milerna quite suddenly as she walked off.

The rest of the day was filled with few familiar faces but many people she noticed did not have the time to speak with her. She found herself wandering around Asturia aimlessly, remembering all the events that happened here at this city. It all seemed so far ago, since she was in love with Allen, since she lied to Milerna about her wedding to Dryden. She seemed like such a child then, she had been so naïve and foolish. Believing that she had actually fallen in love with Allen.

* * *

Rin had followed Hitomi in her aimless walk to nowhere in particular. Had watched her expression turn from smiling to frowning to smiling again. Here expression was constantly changing. It would not be long now before "Operation: Girl from the Mystic Moon" would begin.

When Hitomi had went to bed that night Rin left another spy in charge and left to the New Zaibach underground agency in Asturia. Unfortunately this agency was in one of slummiest parts of Asturia. Garbage littered the streets everywhere and with the garbage came large sewer rats that had crawled up from the sewers. Rin walked into a very shabby tavern. Inside the tavern smelled like urine, sweat and stale ale. He walked straight up to the bar and sat down.

"What'll ya have sir?" the bar tender asked grouchily. He had gray hair and was quite fat. He wore a white apron that was covered with stains. At the moment he was washing a glass.

"Ale for Mother Moon," replied Rin coarsely. This had been the password. At that the bar tender pointed to a side door. Rin stood up and walked into the room. In that room, sat a whole slew of fellow spies and thieves, all sitting at a single table. There was nothing in this room besides candles, a table and chairs.

'When does "Operation: Girl from the Mystic Moon start?" asked Rin impatiently. He was not fond on leaving his jobs to an amateur longer than he had to. He did not like to take risks.

"Operation commences tomorrow," said a rough looking, skinny, red headed thief. The thief smiled evilly and revealed both rotten and missing teeth.

* * *

Hitomi went to bed rather early because of her exhaustion. That night she was disconcerted at the nightmares she had. Her dreams beheld blood, helplessness, loneliness and fear.

She could not understand why she had a nightmare like that. It seemed to her that the last time she had a nightmare like that was when she had been on Gaea last, predicting the future. That was what worried her the most.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry this has taken so long! I've been really really busy with school. I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can but I can make no promises about when it will be up. In all likelihood it will not be up until after Christmas. But anyway, thank you to all the reviewers of my fanfiction. I really appreciate support. As always, special thanks to my editors. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks! 

Chapter 4

Hitomi woke up warily in the morning after a night of terrible dreams. Looking around the room she noticed two dresses that had been set out for her. One of the dresses was light beige in colour and the other dress that was dark blue. The beige dress would be worn to the ceremonies, and the beautiful dark blue dress worn to the ball later on that night.

Slowly Hitomi washed, and put on her beige dress. Looking into the mirror, she wrestled with her conscious about whether or not to tell Van of the terrible dreams that had haunted her in the night. Last time she had been on Gaea she had learned that there was no such thing as fate, and that she could not predict the future. She remembered how every time she had tried to predict the future, she had always pulled the worst possible outcomes into place instead of all the other better futures.

Should she tell Van? 'They could have been dreams and nothing else', thought Hitomi. She still felt as though those dreams seemed to be trying to warn her of some hidden danger. A wave of indecision washed over Hitomi. 'Even if my worries are unwarranted, it is better to be safe than sorry.' She thought.

An uneasy feeling swept over her mind as she decided to follow her intuition and tell Van about the warnings she had received during her sleep. Hitomi rushed towards the door determined to find Van. At the same moment that Hitomi reached for the doorknob, a servant entered Hitomi's room. The servant was about the same age as Hitomi and had long curly red hair. Her face was filled with freckles and she was very tall. The servant seemed to be startled as she noticed Hitomi standing near the door.

"Oh I apologize lady Hitomi, I was told to come here and wake you up but it appears you have already gotten up," said the servant meekly and softly as she looked down at her feet. "Is there anything you need me to do for you?" asked the servant timidly.

"Yes actually there is something you could do for me. Do you know where Van is? I need to speak with him," said Hitomi in a strong and confident tone of voice.

"Do you mean King Van? King Van is getting prepared for his speech this afternoon. Is it very urgent? If it is I could ask him if he can spare some time to meet with you. Would that be satisfactory?" replied the servant in a serious tone of voice.

"Yes, I think that will do just fine. Before you leave there is one more thing," said Hitomi as she began to blush.

"Yes?" inquired the servant.

"Could you tell him… ahh… that we need to meet someplace… in private?" stuttered Hitomi. She was embarrassed just thinking about the sentence.

"Sure," said the servant as she flashed a quick smile and walked out the door. It was a couple of moments before the servant returned. Hitomi's heart thumped loudly in anticipation. Finally the servant returned.

"He wants you to meet him on the roof," said the servant as she smiled. "He seemed to be glad to hear from you." Smiling briefly, Hitomi thanked the servant and rushed toward the roof. By the time Hitomi got to the roof, Van was already standing there looking out upon the city; He turned around as she walked onto the roof.

"What's wrong Htiomi? What's going on? The servant said that it was urgent." said Van with a concerned look on his face. He waited patiently for Hitomi to begin.

"Last night I had some very bad dreams, and Van something isn't right. They were the same kind of dreams that I had the last time I was hear on Gaea. They seemed to be trying to warn me of something… something really bad. I'm worried, really worried. I thought that I was done with this sort of thing once Zaibach had been destroyed. It's the same thing all over again. I'm really worried… I don't know what's going on or anything but I'm afraid that someone may get hurt. I don't want to predict the future but I don't know what to do… it seems like I'm getting warnings about something that is going to happen very soon…I don't know what to do Van… I don't like this."

Van seemed extremely disconcerted and worried about the sound of this news. He did not reply for quite a few moments. "What is it? Another war?" asked Van, as he seemed to purse his lips in deep thought.

"No, I'm not sure what it is. That's what worries me the most. It's something extremely bad though." said Hitomi as she looked carefully at Van's expression.

"We have many guards are on shift today because of the Gaean Peace Celebration. Anyone attempting to attack Asturia tonight would have to be absolutely crazy." said Van finally.

"I don't think they want to attack Asturia Van, I think they want something else." At that moment Van looked deeply into Hitomi's eyes and as a response to an unspoken question Hitomi answered, "I don't know what they want."

"We'll have to take some precautions." said Van seriously. "Put more guards on duty, warn the officials."

"No, don't do that. Let's wait and see what happens. Perhaps my intuition is wrong." replied Hitomi.

"That's crazy! We shouldn't sit around waiting like sitting ducks waiting to be attacked! We should do something about it while we still have the time!" said Van desperately.

"Stop rushing into things Van!" practically yelled Hitomi. "We can't just jump into things that we're not even sure of yet. Stop and analyze the situation. What if nothing at all happens and we just end up making a fool of ourselves? It would be stupid to rush and do something like that right now. Let's just keep an eye out until we know for sure that something is going to happen." said Hitomi in a frustrated voice.

Van looked at Hitomi grumpily and arrogantly but said nothing. After a while he said "Well, I will be looking very carefully to make sure nothing is up. Be careful," said Van finally relenting to Hitomi's will.

"Thanks Van," Hitomi said as she gave Van a quick hug. They walked down to the dining room hand in hand.

* * *

Rin had crouched warily in a tight spot while listening in on Van and Hitomi's conversation. He concentrated very carefully on hearing the words that were spoken. When he heard Hitomi speak of her dreams he became worried.

'The lil' bugger does have an idea about our plans,' thought Rin unhappily. Rin felt unhappy about the fact that the girl knew something was going on. This would make his job a lot more difficult. When Rin had thought that Rygens' theory about the girl had been wrong, Rin had felt relieved. Now, he was worried and in some ways scared for this girl Hitomi. He could not explain why but he felt compassion for this girl. After all, she was just a girl. After hesitating for a few moments, he decided to tell the other spies of this new discovery that he had just made. This could prove to be dangerous if he was not careful.

Van and Hitomi ate in the dining room and soon after the two went to one of the grand public speeches that Van was to speak in. Once Van and Hitomi had arrived at the Central Square, where the speech was taking place, Rin waited. After becoming sure of the fact that Hitomi would not leave and go to some unexpected place, Rin slipped placidly through the crowd.

Under different circumstances he would have pick pocketed some of the richer people in the crowd. Though, knowing the danger of drawing unwanted attention, he resisted the urge to steal. Like a fox Rin slipped through the crowd and into a dark and damp alley where he disappeared into thin air.

* * *

Hitomi watched the public ceremony with interest. She was especially happy when Van got up there and did his speech. He looked so regal, so noble and so strong. As Hitomi watched it became incredibly obvious why Van was king.

It also interested her to watch some of her other old friends speak. Allen spoke at length in the ceremony. His speech was almost longer than Van. Allen always did talk more than Van… After the ceremony had ended Hitomi and Van ended up speaking with Allen and his wife for a little over an hour. Hitomi was happy to learn that Allen was married happily with one child, with another child on the way. His wife was beautiful with long blonde hair and green eyes. Even though she was six months pregnant she still looked very beautiful.

Hitomi ended up sitting through three more separate ceremonies until all of the peace speeches were done. Finally, after that was done a large banquet took place inside of the castle. Large tables of food were set out. There were at least three hundred people dining in that room. Many servants were scuttling about serving people. Hitomi had been surprised that during all this time, she had not once been separated from Van. She could tell that what she had told him had bothered him to a great extent. For the most part he was his normal self, except it was obvious that he was looking out for any suspicious behaviour.

The two of them did not get to talk during dinner because of all the introductions that were made. Hitomi swore that she had seen more than two dozen women give her a dirty look as she held hands with Van. Some of the more conspicuous noble women walked up to Van and started flirting relentlessly with him. Hitomi knew that she should probably be jealous but she knew Van would never have anything to do with them. She could see his obvious disgust in the expression of his face. Secretly, she laughed inside.

The banquet lasted for roughly two hours. While the banquet was still on, the fireworks took place. Van and Hitomi watched the fireworks happily from a balcony. They were surprised to meet Milerna and her--

"Hitomi, Van!" Once Milerna had got Van and Hitomi's attention she introduced him to her soon-to-be husband. "This is my fiancé, this is the Earl I was talking about. His name is Jerald and he is my soon-to-be husband. He just proposed!" said Milerna excitedly. Instinctively, Hitomi hugged Milerna. While Hitomi was hugging her, Milerna gave Van a sly look to Van gave a quaint nod in response. No words passed between the two of them but it was obvious that they had just relayed an important message to each other.

Hitomi soon turned her attention to Milerna's fiancé. He was an older man of about his late thirties. He had kind, caring and experienced eyes. Jerald was a very tall man, being over a head taller than Van. His sword was strapped onto his hilt. He had longish brown hair that was tied back. Grey was starting to show up in his hair and Hitomi could tell immediately that he was very an intelligent and mature man.

"Congratulations!" said Hitomi merrily as she went to shake hands with Milerna's fiancé. Her fiancé took her hand and kissed it, a royal greeting." I've heard quite bit about you! It's nice to meet you!" said Hitomi happily to Jerald.

"It's nice to meet you too!" Jerald released Hitomi's hand. Milerna has told me so much about you and your journeys here on Gaea. It's amazing that you came here all the way from the Mystic Moon. I've had stories about people coming there but I thought it was all myth. It appears I was wrong though." Jerald had a deep and soothing voice. At that moment Milerna grabbed onto Hitomi's arm.

"Let's leave these two gentlemen to amongst themselves. I need to talk to you," said Milerna in a secretive tone of voice. Hitomi nodded in response.

"Hitomi and I are going to freshen up. I hope you two gentlemen don't mind being left alone for a while," said Milerna slyly.

"Go on my sweet, come back soon," replied Jerald in his sweet tone of voice. "I'll miss you." Milerna walked up to Jerald, hugged him and was then ready to go.

Van nodded at Hitomi and then Hitomi and Milerna walked away together.

As Hitomi and Milerna walked through the halls silently casually Hitomi finally began to get curious about where they were going. "Where are we going, what is this all about?" asked Hitomi anxiously.

"You'll see, we're going to my room because it's quiet in there and we can talk." replied Milerna. They did not speak until the reached the safety of Milerna's room.

"Okay finally, are you going to tell me what's going on here?" impatiently asked Hitomi.

"Yeah, yeah fine, you don't have to be grumpy about it, "complained Milerna. "I want you to be my maid of honour," said Milerna solemnly and surely. "Will you do it?"

Amazement ran through Hitomi. "You want me to be your bride's maid? I'm honoured but wouldn't you want someone else to do it? I mean we haven't seen each other in three years and I'm sure you know someone who would be more qualified than me," said Hitomi in a worrisome tone of voice.

"That's just it. I don't know any one more qualified than you Hitomi. You're intelligent, pretty and you're not afraid to stand up to me and tell me when you think I am wrong. Besides that, you are my best friend, and I could never think of anyone more suited to the position than you are," at that moment the two girls were hugging, tears came out of both of their eyes. "Please say you'll do it."

"I'll do it," the two girls remained hugging and crying for the next several minutes. Finally the hugging spree broke and they looked at each solemnly, the remains of tears still twinkling in their eyes.

"We better get going, Van and Jerald will be waiting for us," said Hitomi at last. They had been gone for at least a quarter of an hour.

"Wait there is one more thing I've got to ask you," said Milerna seriously. She began to walk around the room in circles.

"Yes, what is it?" asked Hitomi curiously as she took a seat.

"How do you feel about marriage?" asked Milerna pensively. She stopped and looked directly at Hitomi.

"I don't know, I think marriage is well… marriage. It's really special. I'm pretty sure you and Jerald will be very happy together, I'm sure it's the right thing to do. You two seem to love each other so I think everything will go fine," replied Hitomi honestly.

"So you think if two people love each other they should get married right?" fished Milerna nervously. She was glad see that it seemed like Hitomi had no idea of what she was talking about.

"Yeah. As long as two people are in love, want to be with each other and are ready to be married, they should get married," responded Hitomi wisely "Why what is this all about? Are you unsure of your marriage to Jerald? If you're not sure you really should call off the wedding. I'm sure Jerald will understand that you're just not ready yet," advised Hitomi wisely as she looked straight at Milerna's face which was now turning pink from blushing.

"No, it's nothing like that. It's nothing. Never mind. I shouldn't have brought it up. Let's get back to our dates, shall we?" said Milerna as she began to shine with her usual glow.

"Whatever you think is best," agreed Hitomi and the two of them walked back to the garden. Jerald and Van were still standing roughly where they had been when the two girls had left. It had been so long that the fireworks had finished and everyone had gone inside. The ball was about to start.

"Did the two of you have a nice little chat?" Asked Jerald as Milerna walked over to him and grabbed a hold of his arm.

"We sure did, Hitomi agreed to be my maid of honour." replied Milerna happily as they began to walk inside of the castle.

"That's wonderful news!" announced Jerald. "I can't wait!" Van held out his arm for Hitomi to grab onto and the two of them walked into the castle arm in arm.

* * *

Rin walked silently amongst the crowd trying not to look too conspicuous. This was the night that really mattered; this is the night he had to capture Hitomi. She had seen him at least twice on this day already but had never stopped to think about it.

On this night he was dressed like a noble man, even though he was anything but. This job was turning out to be a lot more difficult than he expected it to be. He just hoped that the cards turn out in his favour.

"Things are being made increasingly more difficult because she seems to know that something is up, but how much does she really know? Hopefully not enough spoil my plans." thought Rin worriedly. "If anything goes wrong on this night I will not get paid, and even worse, I might end up getting killed.'

Rin waited anxiously for the right time to come. 'This will succeed, it will,' thought Rin in an attempt to convince himself that everything was going to go all right.

* * *

The ball soon came underway, and Milernas dancing lessons had paid off well. Hitomi did not mess up the dance once during the time she was dancing with Van. Van and Hitomi danced for the first several dances. It was beautiful, a night that Hitomi did not want to end. Hitomi had her head rested on Van's shoulder. It was not too long until people walked up to them and started asking them for a dance.

Hitomi was surprised to see that Allen and his wife walked up to them. Cheerfully Allen's wife asked, "Would the two of you like to switch partners?" reluctantly Van and Hitomi agreed and before Hitomi knew it, her hands were in Allen's and they were dancing.

For Hitomi it felt odd and awkward dancing with Allen like this. It had not been too long ago when the two of them had been more than friends, and she had believed that she was in love with him. Not too far away Allen's wife and Van were dancing gracefully. His wife was a graceful dancer and Hitomi had not realized just how good at dancing Van really was. They were dancing a much more difficult dance than any of the dances that Hitomi had been taught. She became embarrassed when she realized that Van had been making the dance easier for her so she would not look like a fool. To add to Hitomi's embarrassment she became so distracted watching Van that she stepped on Allen's foot.

"I'm really sorry," said Hitomi as she began to blush. The always chivalrous Allen just smiled and said, "That's alright," in his soothing voice.

"Is Van treating you well? Are you happy?" asked Allen awkwardly after a fairly long amount of time had passed.

"Yeah, everything is going well, I'm happy," replied Hitomi.

"I'm happy to hear it", said Allen cheerfully, "I really think that you've made the right choice. I'm glad to hear that you've finally come back. Van has really missed you, you know? I…"

Hitomi did not hear the rest of the sentence. All of the sudden reality faded out and all she was left with was black. She could not see anything anywhere. She couldn't move and on top of that she had a feeling as though she could breathe. She struggled and struggled, gasping for air but she did not get any. Her lungs were paining for air and she was slowly dying.

"Please no, not like this" screamed Hitomi in her mind. It was completely useless; she could not even speak, no matter how much she tried. Something was being held over her mouth and nose. Around her were evil voices, speaking to her laughing, thinking they had won. She could not understand what they were saying. She completely stopped breathing.

* * *

"Hitomi, Hitomi," yelled Allen as Hitomi collapsed into his arms. Van ran over immediately. Allen shook Hitomi violently trying to wake her up. "I don't know what's going on, we were talking and dancing and then all the sudden she stopped breathing and collapsed. A rather large crowd was gathering around Allen, Van and Hitomi trying to figure out what was going on. Allen gently handed over Hitomi to Van who continued to shake her and call to her. Allen looked quickly over at his wife, "Anne get some water please," said Allen urgently as Van and himself made a dual effort to wake Hitomi up. Anne came back quickly with the water. Allen grabbed it quickly and put some into Hitomi's mouth.

"Unnnnn…" said Hitomi as she opened up her eyes. Allen was standing with a worried look on his face in front of her and she was being supported by Van. Quickly she stood up to notice that everyone had gathered around, watching what was going on.

Van was going to say something but Allen said it first, "What happened? What's wrong? Are you all right? You looked like you were having a vision."

Hitomi looked warily around her. "I'm alright, I just felt a little light headed that's all. I'm perfectly fine now." Most of the spectators returned their attention back to their own business.

"Dear, maybe you should take a rest," said Anne. "Maybe there has been a little bit too much excitement for tonight," said Anne as she looked at her husband Allen lovingly. "Perhaps you should take a walk, clear your head a bit and come back when you're feeling better." Van and Allen looked doubtfully at each other.

"I think you're right, I should take a walk," said Hitomi. "Van would you like to come with me," Van nodded and they walked out hand in hand.

"Shall we go to the garden?" asked Hitomi and they began to walk toward the garden. They were surprised to see that no one else was walking in the garden; all of the people had gone inside. It was a beautiful night and the stars were shining brightly. They walked over to the fountain.

"You had a vision," stated Van bluntly as he looked straight into her eyes.

"I had a vision but I'm sure it was nothing," lied Hitomi. She did not want to worry Van. 'Maybe if I do not do anything about it, it will go away and nothing will happen.' reasoned Hitomi.

"Are you sure?" asked Van.

"I'm sure." stated Hitomi bluntly. It was several minutes before either of them spoke. They peered out at the wonderful and perfect sky, amazed at how beautiful it was that night. Finally the silence was broke.

"Hitomi there has been something that I have wanted to ask you," said Van as he pulled a box out of a hidden pocket. The box was somewhat larger than a ring box.

"Yes?" said Hitomi curiously as she watched Van's movement. Van pulled out a white package that had a red ribbon wrapped around it. Carefully Van untied the ribbon and gently opened the box to reveal a beautiful gold necklace. It bore the Fanelian emblem and jewels were encrusted into it.

"It's beautiful Van, but what is this?" asked Hitomi curiously as her cheeks began to turn red. Van soon continued talking.

"This is the necklace that my father gave my mother when he proposed. It has been in my family for a very long time." said Van matter of factly. His own face had turned quite red at this point. Suddenly Hitomi realized what was happening and was shocked that she had not realized what was happening before. "So that's what Milerna was hinting about," was one of the thoughts that raced through her mind. She began breathing quite frantically.

"I… I want… the kingdom needs a queen… and… it would be best for me too if… you…you… would… become my queen… " Van stuttered out clumsily. He could not even look at her. He looked directly down, at the necklace, his face beat red.

"I…I…" stumbled Hitomi as she attempted to sort out her racing thoughts. It was at that moment that a messenger barged loudly into the garden. The messenger bowed quickly and began to speak.

"Excuse me Lord Van, you are needed urgently in the conference room," said the messenger quickly. The messenger was very thin with blonde hair in the start of a beard. It was obvious that the messenger boy was still in puberty because his voice cracked as he spoke.

"Can it wait?" asked Van irritably, his face was still red.

"No, it can't wait one minute," replied the messenger. "It's urgent."

"What is it?" Grumpily asked Van.

"I wasn't told, I was just told it was urgent and that they need you right away." bellowed the messenger.

"Okay," said Van as he wrapped up the necklace again and put it away. "I'll be right back. You might want to go inside until I come back." said Van softly as he left the garden.

Hitomi was still stunned at all that had happened. She looked wearily at herself through the water. 'It's happening all so fast, what am I going to do?' That was one of her last thoughts before she saw through the water of the fountain, the reflection of someone who was coming up behind her. She was about to scream but did not have time. She was grabbed from behind and restrained. A hand was clasped over her mouth.

Hitomi attempted to fight whoever has grabbed her but they were too strong. She struggled as her attacker dragged her helplessly away.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys! Once again I'm going to thank my editors, readers and reviewers. I really appreciate the input. I'm sorry this took so long. Lol You can thank my friend for this chapter because she keeps on hinting at me to get it done! lol. I find I write these stories better under pressure so I will set a date for the next chapter to be done by. And that date is going to be… April 15th. Yay random date! Yay! I think this story may be just a little longer than I thought it would be. Oh well! Sorry it's just a tad shorter than usual. It just kinda worked out that way, because that's where it made the most sense to end the chapter. Alright, enough blabbin! Thanks!

Chapter 5

Cursing unhappily in his mind, Van followed the messenger closely. Carefully, he dodged the merry people who walked about the brightly lit halls. 'Could there have been a worse time for an emergency to spring up? Interrupted right in the middle of a proposal of marriage! This will be an incident to remember!' Mused Van in his mind angrily.

"What does this have to do with?" asked Van sombrely.

"Really your majesty, I have no idea. I was just sent to get you and told it was urgent. Please forgive me." Thoughtfully replied the messenger.

The walk continued in silence. After what seemed like forever, they made their arrival at the conference room. Van quaintly nodded at the messenger and walked inside.

Tapestries covered with gold hung all around the room. A large window was situated in the middle of the wall closest to the lake. From the window, a reflection of the lake was still visible. The window also looked out upon all of the lights from the parties that were going on at that very moment. In the middle of the room several Kings sat around a table, all of them looking anxious and worried.

"What's this all about?" demanded Van angrily. The other Kings in the room gazed at Van in awe, having never heard him speak so angrily. At the head of the table sat King Aston, and beside King Aston seated placidly, was Dryden.

Dryden looked his normal self, confident and arrogant. " Don't get so angry Van, sit down so we can start explaining the situation." After waiting for all of the apprehensive kings to sit and quiet down, King Aston began speaking.

"As all of you know, Zaibach was defeated three years ago to this very day. Soon after the war ended I placed spies at the ruins of Zaibach to make sure Zaibach didn't cause trouble again. I placed Dryden as the head of the Asturia secret service in Zaibach. He has been undercover as a merchant in Zaibach for the last several months, monitoring the goings on of Zaibach. Today, Dryden comes to us with some very troubling news. Dryden would you please continue."

"Thank you your majesty," replied Dryden as he used his index finger to push up the brim of his glasses, a book sat on his lap. Turning the pages of the book with one hand and occasionally rubbing his beard with the other, he waited a few seconds before beginning. Finally shutting the book and standing, he began speaking in an authoritative and well-informed voice.

" Good evening your majesties, I am deeply sorry about having to call you all here in the middle of a party like this, but this simply couldn't wait. As you all know, I have been carrying on my business in Zaibach. It is my great displeasure to inform you that the Zaibach army has been rebuilding its flanks at an alarming rate. There are now thousands upon thousands of Zaibach soldiers. I know for a fact that Zaibach is now armed with an upward of ten thousand guymelefs and it appears like they are preparing for war. " Several kings gasped and started talking amongst themselves. "Let's go on in and attack the greasy buggers before they have a chance to even attempt attacking us," one king said as another replied that they should have completely destroyed Zaibach while they had the chance.

"Gentlemen, Gentlemen," roared King Aston loudly. "There is still more that has to be said. Dryden,"

"Thank you once again your majesty. It has been estimated that New Zaibach received twenty to thirty five new guymelefs each day. Even more alarmingly, somehow it is also estimated that at least one hundred new foot soldiers join their military everyday. For how long this will last, no one knows. It seems that Zaibach soldiers have been attacking surrounding farming villages and towns, killing the villagers who don't agree to join their cause. The leader of the entire operation is a nobleman named Rygen. Not much is known about him except he is extremely rich and that he has a woman named Queen Nola serving beside him. Many attempts have been made by my very own men to infiltrate the fortress. So far every attempt we have made has failed, and the men who went on those missions haven't returned alive. So far we have not been able to determine the reason for the recent build- up of their military but it is best that we assume the worst, at least until they are able to explain their actions. For now we must decide on the best course of action. I think it would be wise to further build up our own militaries in case it becomes essential for us to band together and fight," said Dryden knowledgably as he once again sat down in his chair.

"So this is why this meeting has been called, to decide on a course of action," authoritatively spoke King Aston.

"I believe it would be unwise for us attack Zaibach immediately, especially being so unprepared," said a nasally voiced king.

"We should destroy them right now, before they have a chance to build up their army any more than it already is! We're running out of time!" cried a rowdy king who possessed a very deep voice.

"How has Zaibach been able to build up their army so fast?" questioned another king who came from a country rather close to Zaibach. "We knew that they were building up their military but we didn't think they were doing it so fast. If what you say is true, right now Zaibach has enough power to take over my country, like they did in the last war. We're a peaceful people that don't care much for war. We don't want to be taken over again. How can this be?"

"There are a couple answers. New technology. When Zaibach was destroyed not all of their technology was destroyed, in fact, quite a lot of it was still intact. Since most of their engineers never joined in fighting, most of them are still alive. When the war ended many people were left stranded and homeless. Their current leader united all of the stranded and homeless people together and promised them that he would rebuild Zaibach and make it the leader of the entire world. After Rygen took over, the country began to prosper. We've heard reports that say that Zaibach has taken over some technologically advanced countries that are quite distant from here. Besides that, neighbouring towns, cities and small countries have been wilfully joining Zaibach in an attempt to share in its newfound prosperity. More and more people come to join Zaibach everyday. For the most part, each person is wholeheartedly united under the one cause," explained Dryden.

Another one of the kings stood up and began to offer his opinion on the entire affair, but was found too intoxicated and unintelligible. In the end he was taken back to one of his rooms, and an official was brought to stand in his place.

The meeting lasted for roughly two hours. The only decision that had been made by the end of the meeting was that all of the countries needed to prepare for the possibility of imminent danger.

Van walked out of the meeting with a knot in his stomach. He had to stay a little longer to catch up with Dryden but as soon as he could get out, he did. Immediately he began to walk toward the ball, making the assumption that Hitomi had long ago left the garden. Hitomi had been right about the upcoming danger, she normally was.

When he reached the ballroom he quickly began glancing around the ballroom in search of Hitomi. A few noblewomen came up to him and began to talk to him but he instantaneously brushed aside. He only really needed to talk to one person at this moment. Seeing Allen and his wife dancing, he promptly walked up to them.

"Allen have you seen Hitomi?" asked Van calmly. Immediately Allen stopped dancing.

"No, I haven't seen Hitomi since you left with her two hours ago. You mean you haven't been with her all of this time?" Van promptly shook his head and became increasingly worried. Allen put his hand assuringly on Van's shoulder. "Maybe Hitomi just got tired and went back up to her room. All the same, I'll ask around and see if anyone has seen her lately. She's probably not too far," said Allen reassuringly. Van nodded his thanks and took Allen's suggestion.

Calmly Van walked to Hitomi's room and knocked loudly on the door. There was no answer.

"Excuse me, are you looking for the young Miss Hitomi?" asked an older looking maid coming out from another room. "Yes, have you seen her lately?" Questioned Van placidly.

"No, I'm sorry dear but she hasn't been in her room much all day. I'm afraid that last time she was in her room was a couple of hours ago when she got ready for the fireworks. She hasn't been back since." Thanking the maid, he walked stiffly away.

A sinking feeling began to take hold of him as he started desperately to search for Hitomi. He knew something was deeply wrong. He asked dozens and dozens of people if they had seen Hitomi. No one had. He sent servants out to search for her, to find her. Their tasks came up fruitless.

It was now in the very early hours of the morning and Hitomi still had not come back. Van was still awake, refusing to even consider the idea of sleep. Anger and anguish pulsed through his body as he paced restlessly about a small study. By this time he had sent out many search parties. Search parties ravished the countryside but there was still no luck finding Hitomi.

There with him was Allen Schezar, knight Caeli. Allen sat comfortably and calmly on a chair by the fire, sipping a hot drink. Contradictory to what it appeared, Allen himself was also worried about Hitomi.

"You should go to sleep Van, you look exhausted. I know you're worried about her but exhausting yourself until you're sick doesn't help anyone, especially not Hitomi," said Allen thoughtfully.

"Of course you can say that Allen Schezar!" said Van hostilely and contemptuously. "It's not your fault she's gone! If I hadn't left for that meeting, and stayed with her instead, then this wouldn't be happening! I shouldn't have gone to that meeting anyways, I was in the middle of a proposal! I wish I had just taken more precautions when she first told me about her vision… Then this wouldn't be happening! I shouldn't have listened to her when she passed out in the ballroom and told me that she hadn't had a vision. I knew she was lying. Now Hitomi's gone and it's my fault…" said Van hurriedly. The sound of hurt seeped through his voice. If he were younger, he may have cried but being much older and more mature, he knew better.

"You and I both know that's not true. Stop being so self- centred and start looking at the real issue, getting Hitomi back. It's obvious that something has happened to her, or else we would have found her by now. She has probably been kidnapped. Hitomi wouldn't leave for this long without telling anybody, especially you. She'd have brought someone with her. Even when she ran off to Fanelia to see Folken with you, she was not alone; she went with you. Now the problem is finding out who has her and what they want with her. You're a man, you're job is to get her back. She loves you. She's relying on you. Be strong. Even Dryden is doing his very best to try to locate her, and you know he has connections everywhere, among the honourable and dishonourable alike. We'll find her, I promise. Don't worry. She's strong; she'll be all right. Have faith in her because I know she has faith in you. As for me, I'm going to go back to my family who haven't seen me in a while and then I'm going to bed. I've had Milerna send for Merle for you. She'll be here as soon as possible," said Allen as he stood up, stretched and began to walk toward the door. Just as he reached to door, he was stopped by the sound of Vans voice.

"Allen," said Van as Allen turned to look at him. "Thanks." Allen nodded, "Just try to get some sleep, we'll worry about this more in the morning," stated Allen as he walked out the door and went back to his room.

Van sat up for a half an hour more before going back to his own room. To his surprise, he immediately fell asleep once his head hit the pillow. His sleep was disturbed. It would be a long while before he would be able to sleep soundly again.

* * *

The first thing Hitomi could hear when she came out of her sleep was the dull, repetitious sound of horse hooves hitting a dirt road. Beside her was a monotonous and hoarse kind of breathing. She was sore all over and she could not seem to remember why. Opening her eyes she saw that she was in a carriage of some sort. Attempting to get up, she realized that both her hands and her feet were bound. At the moment there was a gag in her mouth that prevented her from speaking.

"Don't try anything smart or you'll be in a lot more pain than ye are in right now," came a voice. Looking around, Hitomi finally found the source of the voice. There, beside her was a rather young, quite ordinary looking man of about the age of about twenty- five. He was dressed like a nobleman but his clothes were quite dirty. He had short red hair and a red beard. She just stared at him.

"If ya' promise not ta' scream I'll take the gag outta yer mouth," announced the red haired man. Hitomi nodded. A couple seconds later, while taking the gag out of her mouth he added, "not that it really matters anyways, only me and the driver can hear you."

"Wh… Where am I? Why am I here? Where are we going? Who are you?" asked Hitomi quickly. She looked around to see if she could find any other clues, but there was nothing in the carriage.

"Calm down. You better get comfy while ya can becuz you won't be comfy for long. We're in the middle of nowhere now. We're goin' ta meet the person who hired me to capture you in the first place. And I am your captor, otherwise called Rin," said Rin in what Hitomi found to be an alarmingly soothing voice.

"What happened? What does this guy who hired you want with me?" continued Hitomi in an alarmed voice. Surprisingly, Hitomi considered this guy to quite safe and relatively friendly. She did not understand why, but she was not afraid of this. Her gut feeling, which usually warned her of danger, said that he was not as bad as he seemed to be.

"Last night I kidnapped you while you were sittin' in a garden in Austuria. Then we put ya' in this carriage and now we're here. I don't know what they want with you, it's not my job to ask questions," replied Rin sombrely.

"Rin could you please untie me. I promise you that I will not try to run away." For the first time Hitomi looked directly into Rin's eyes. His eyes did not match his appearance. They were kind, caring green eyes that did not seem to suit a kidnapper.

Rin began to move closer to her and grab her restraints. "I really shouldn't be doin' this but fer' some reason I believe you," quickly he untied the restraints. "As soon as we reach the base in an hour or so you're gettin' tied up again." Hitomi nodded.

"What is the base?" asked Hitomi after a while.

"All of the Zaibach floating fortresses were destroyed three years ago. Shortly after th' destruction of Zaibach, th' people of Zaibach began to rebuild up their military. They discovered how t' make bigger n' better leviships, guymelefs n' floating fortresses. Besides that we've invaded some technically advanced foreign countries. To stay on the side of safety we're keepin' the floating fortresses away from the neighbourin' countries, so we don't alarm them. Right now we don't want to let Asturia, or any of th' other countries know that we're rebuilding our military. Even if there are invisibility cloaks on th' fortress we don't wanna take the risk. So we have certain pick up bases."

"Why do you people want war?" questioned Hitomi seriously and waited for a reply.

"There's a lot of money ta' be made from war. A lot' a people are ticked off, having their homes and livelihood destroyed in the war n' all. That war destroyed everything. People were left on th' streets ta starve to death. The people wanted revenge. Soon after, a still rich nobleman an' the daughter of a deceased general promised th' people liberation and revenge. At the same time they promised them peace, promised that they'd be th' capital of th' world. Promised they'd no longer starve. He promised ta free them. The cause is to make a completely united world where everyone works together as one, instead of many independent countries that are constantly squabbling. There would be no more need for wars. Of course, Zaibach would be the capital of this unified world," explained Rin helpfully.

"Making war to stop war. That makes no sense. Do you really think taking over all of the other countries and uniting them under a single power hungry dictator is going to help anyone else in the world besides Zaibach?" asked Hitomi hotly. To answer that, Rin just smiled. Not another word was spoken for a long time on that trip.

Hitomi did not say one word; she was too angry and frustrated. A war was never the answer to anything. "Violence begets more violence; didn't anyone know that? Why was everyone always so willing to go to war and yet not so willing to help out their neighbour? Why must war always be the answer?"

"A couple years ago Van had been so eager and willing to go to war too. 'To die for my country, to take revenge for my country,' is what he would say," thought Hitomi. "V…Van," said Hitomi. She was so absorbed in thinking that she had not noticed that she had said Van's name out loud. Rin gave her a strange look but said nothing.

In a rush, memories of the events of the previous night flooded Hitomi's mind. She had forgotten, being too busy with the present matters. "Van and I went to the Gaean peace celebration," recited Hitomi in her mind. "He was one of the people who spoke up in front of the big crowd. I was with Van all day, we met Allen – he has a wife. We didn't get to talk to each other at the banquet, and then we went to the fireworks. They were beautiful. Met Jerald; Milerna asked me to be her bridesmaid—I said yes. She asked me some weird questions. Van and I went to the ball, danced. I danced with Allen once. Had horrible vision…vision… When did I begin calling it that? Walked outside with Van. He was worried, then he… yes… he… asked me to marry him." At that remembrance she immediately started to blush.

"Van will be really worried about me," realized Hitomi soberly. "I bet he is searching for me right now. I wonder if he is doing okay. I hope he doesn't get hurt trying to come after me. Will he even be able come and save me? He has no idea where I am. I'm going to have to depend on myself for now. There is no saying whether Van will be able to rescue me or not. Certainly he will try. Will I ever even be able to see him again?" At that thought, Hitomi realized that there were tears rolling down her face.

"Don't worry, that's a strong one you have. He won't give up easily. He loves you more than anything. We won't kill him unless we really hav ta'. He's more useful to us alive than he is dead."

"How do you know that?" asked Hitomi who was suddenly startled. It was like as if he had just read her mind. How could he know exactly what she was thinking?

"I've seen that young lad of yours. I've been watchin' you two practically since ya first came to Gaea about a week or so ago. It's like you two are playin' cat and mouse you two is," Rin chuckled, "neither of ya hav any idea of what ur doin. Both worryin over the slightest things, not realizin' that there really is nothin' to worry about cuz the other is worryin' about the exact same thing. Young love's a very precious thing. And for that reason, Van must be kept alive. They can blackmail 'im into all sorts of stuff they can. He'll do it too, just to keep you alive. Any way ya look at it, he's at a disadvantage. If he comes to rescue you, they'll threaten to kill ya, if he follows their demands n' doesn't attempt to rescue ya, they'll have him in a tight spot they will. He'll just have to follow the demands of the New Zaibach Empire just to try to keep ya alive. Poor kid," sympathetically stated Rin.

"Fools! Do they really think they will be able bully Van around so easily? He won't go along with that. He would rather die than give into something as silly as that," stated Hitomi glibly.

"Are you really so sure?" asked Rin pensively. He was about to add something when the carriage halted.

"Are we at th' base?" shouted Rin.

"Ye, we're here. Ye' better prepare th' girl to board the leviship. Looks like they've bin waitn' for us a while," replied the driver.

Rin replaced the gag that had been placed in her mouth before, and retied her arms. This time he did not bind her legs. While he was doing this, Hitomi thought about what Rin had said. Would Van follow their demands in an attempt to keep her alive and safe? Would he really allow himself to be placed in a position like that? She had not thought so, and she was hoping he would not, but now a seed of doubt inhabited her mind. The very notion of Van allowing himself to be manipulated like that alarmed her greatly.

Shortly, Rin dragged her out of the carriage and into a large, empty grassy field. No one else was there, except for the shabby looking carriage driver and the horse. The wind was cold even though the sun was up high in the sky. Hitomi looked up at the sky. It seemed safe. Birds flew high above, squawking and crowing. Big puffy white clouds hovered above. Still something felt amiss.

At that very moment the leviship appeared out of nowhere in the sky and menacingly blocked out the sun.

* * *

Late, on the sixth day after Milerna had sent out for Merle, she arrived. Merle had been late getting to Palas because she had been late to receive the message. The messenger that had been sent out to fetch Merle had got caught in a severe storm.

As soon as Merle arrived at Palas, she ran off in search of Van. It did not take too long for her to find him. He was on the roof of the palace practicing his sword fighting skills. Sword stroke after sword stroke, Van jabbed at an invisible enemy. His face was unmarred by emotion; he was wearing an invisible mask.

Merle stood there for a few minutes watching Van in the moonlight. She did not say a word. She could see his invisible mask and the pain that it held behind it. He was handsome, smart and oh-so-stubborn. He looked so regal in the moonlight. It hurt Merle to see Van look so hurt. She knew every emotion and every mask that ever came to his face. She knew him well, for she too was in love with him. It was long ago, when Hitomi had first stepped foot on Gaea that she had first realized that Van would never love her the same way as he loved Hitomi. She had done everything in her power to prevent Van from falling in love with Hitomi but alas, to no avail. Realizing that Van would never be her own, Merle gave up her own happiness. Van's happiness was her own happiness, and she would do anything in her power to make Van happy.

After sulking for a few more moments Merle yelled out "Lord Van!" Immediately, Van sheathed his sword and Merle ran directly into his arms and hugged him. He began to pat her head gently. "Lord Van, she's okay, she'll be just fine, I just know it! She's strong! She'll be able to handle herself until we're able to rescue her. She's a tomboy after all."

"I have no idea of where she is or how to find her. I've had search teams looking all over for her. For the last couple of nights I've even secretly flown out of the castle and watched over the surrounding countryside. I've even landed a couple times when no one could see me and checked out campfires to see if she was there," said Van hopelessly.

"Van you should never use your wings, it dangerous," scolded Merle. At that very moment a very good idea came into her mind. She jumped out of Van's arms and began to hop up and down. "Van, I just came up with a really, really good idea!" Van stared at her intently and waited for her to speak. Merle stopped jumping and stood still while she balled her furry hands into fists.

"Do you remember when you were fighting the invisible enemy and you asked Hitomi to teach you how to locate them using the pendant?" He nodded, and a slight smile came to his face. He was catching onto her idea. "Why don't you use the pendant to locate Hitomi? I've seen Hitomi use it before to locate you. And I know you've used it before so why not give it a try? It can't hurt."

Merle watched intently as Van took the pendant off from around his neck. He held it out in front of him and closed his eyes. He pictured Hitomi in his mind and kept his mind focused on her. After he kept his stance for what felt like hours, he felt the pendant make a definite swing smoothly in his hand. He opened his eyes to find the pendant pointing north, the direction of Zaibach.

"Yay! I'm so happy Lord Van! You've found Hitomi!" announced Merle as she began to hop again.

At that very moment, a messenger came to see Van. This messenger was brown haired and did not wear any distinct livery. "King Van, I have a message for you," said the messenger who possessed an extremely deep voice.

"Who's it from?" asked Van.

"I can't say," the messenger handed it over a letter.

Reading the message carefully, Van's face went from an expression of success and happiness to one of seriousness and displeasure.

"What does it say Lord Van?"asked Merle curiously in her high-pitched voice.

"It says that Zaibach has Hitomi, and if I want her back I will have to comply with all their demands or she will die…"


End file.
